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  • Mass Coastal Railroad (MC) Discussion

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1451816  by fogg1703
 
Taunton Scrap is a subsidiary of Spiegel Scrap in Brockton. They opened in the former RI Knitting building at 20 Cushman St in Taunton recently adjacent to the salt yard. In talks with an employee at the Brockton operation months ago, the plan was to ship domestic bound scrap from Taunton by rail and truck international bound scrap to Everett. Wether they use the salt yard tracks, CSX's Ingell St yard or build their own siding was what I was wondering if anyone had heard.

The new C&D operation is a subsidiary of G Lopes Construction/NE Recycling called Future Fuels. With the new trackage they have built (1 interior loading track and two exterior storage tracks) I would assume they are in need of a track mobile to shuffle cars when they open. Wonder if MC could get the rights to switch Myles Standish Industrial Park from CSX to see if they could win back some former rail shippers with increased service. As it stands I think only the Americold siding is being used. Could keep an MC switcher busy all day just switching Taunton area industries.
 #1451850  by ebtmikado
 
GP40MC1118 wrote:Taunton Scrap?

The only new customer in the area is a C&D plant just opened in Myles Standish Industrial Park (the old Mansfield mainline).
And a CSX customer, not Mass Coastal.

D
YET!
 #1453309  by SOCO11
 
I stopped in Taunton yesterday to see if CSX derailment was visible (no luck). I did check out Taunton Scrap which is located next to salt pile and is now open according to sign. They appear to have a possible rail served dock on the back of building but I could not see if there was track to it or not. There was only a small amount of actual scrap present so too soon to be shipping anything out. There was definitely a remodel and expansion of the building and due to tree clearing there is some visibility from the overpass just up the tracks from the site- I did not stop and get out so again I don't know if you can see the dock area. Also, Mass DOT ballast cars and caboose were in yard behind salt pile.

Last week I went into the industrial park and saw the Lopes facility. 3 new tracks look ready to go but appears building is not in use yet. Based on local news it seems like this may be MSW transfer as well as C and D.
 #1453347  by fogg1703
 
SOCO11 wrote:I stopped in Taunton yesterday to see if CSX derailment was visible (no luck)
Cotley Jct is a tough place to get into. Looks like the lead unit split the switch. Not too earth shattering, but it held up all freight east of there.

Have they stopped loading the Mass DOT cars at Danforth St? I've seen pictures of the area adjacent to the siding all cleared out, I assumed this was only for rock loading?
SOCO11 wrote: I did check out Taunton Scrap which is located next to salt pile and is now open according to sign. They appear to have a possible rail served dock on the back of building but I could not see if there was track to it or not. There was only a small amount of actual scrap present so too soon to be shipping anything out. There was definitely a remodel and expansion of the building and due to tree clearing there is some visibility from the overpass just up the tracks from the site- I did not stop and get out so again I don't know if you can see the dock area. Also, Mass DOT ballast cars and caboose were in yard behind salt pile.
From google maps it looks like an easy siding to put in next to their open yard area adjacent to the branch. Thanks for the update.
 #1455453  by SOCO11
 
I was in Fall River just before Christmas and saw that the facility at the bottom of Middle St is receiving salt by sea. I didn't see a sign so I don't know if this is Saltine Warrior but I assume it is. There is a large pile unloaded and a lot of handling equipment moved in. They are loading trucks at the site. No sign of rail siding construction beyond the cleared ROW. Of course, with the weather as it is, I expect there will be no work until spring. With that potential customer and Gold Medal it makes sense to rehab the rest of the track.
 #1455492  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
That's what MC management is quoted as saying they intend to do...go all the way to the state line. I don't know if that means a new runaround is going to be installed near end-of-track at the tank farm; presently there's no means of turning around past Gold Medal.

They were awaiting a small release of state funds to begin the track rehab; that's why they didn't get more than brush clearing done before ground freeze.
Last edited by MEC407 on Wed Jan 03, 2018 10:08 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1455517  by Bill Reidy
 
December 21st Fall River Herald News article:

"Saltine Warrior started three years ago after Pearson retired from the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad with a thorough appreciation of what Fall River could offer a company like his. He is a native of Syracuse. The Saltine Warrior was the mascot of Syracuse University until 1978...

"He applied for state grants to build a rail spur next to his company. The state promised to rebuild the waterfront freight line between Ferry Street and Gold Medal Bakery.

"“I’ve lined up leases on covered hopper cars to move the salt,” Pearson said. The collapse of the market for crude oil extracted by fracking means there are a lot of covered hopper cars that are no longer needed to carry fracking sand. That means the hopper cars can be leased for cheap.

"“Once I get a rail connection, I could move salt by rail to Cape Cod,” Pearson said. “There is no place on the Cape to pile salt and the Cape needs salt.”"

http://www.heraldnews.com/news/20171221 ... salty-city" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by MEC407 on Wed Jan 03, 2018 10:09 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1455595  by Falmouth Secondary to Otis
 
There wasn't enough time to get salt storage in place for this winter at the UCRTS facility on Otis / JBCC seeing that Cavossa just reopened it in October of 2017. That may happen by next fall as it is the ideal location to stockpile salt shipped by rail to create a regional supply for the Cape.
 #1456070  by Falmouth Secondary to Otis
 
BenH wrote:The recent entry in the Federal Register would suggest that the Air Force is proceeding with plans to transfer their on-Cape rail corridor to the Commonwealth of Massachussets. (i.e. the line between North Falmouth and Joint Base Cape Cod.)

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08 ... -19756.htm

I wonder if this news signals the end of all rail military rail traffic to the base? (besides the trash train) Or is this just being done so that the state can assume ownership and maintenance of the rail line?
Correct on the 2nd question as the State assumed ownership / maintenance of the Otis rail spur in the spring of 2015 to ensure rail access to the UCRTS facility which reopened in Oct 2017, with the remaining line past it to be retained by the military for it's future use. There was just a small article in the local paper about it as I recall, but can't find any official notice recorded anywhere. Does anyone have any info as to where to find the final transfer notice ? I tried the link above but it only showed the initial notice.
 #1456080  by F-line to Dudley via Park
 
There was a formal STB filing for the ownership change back it first happened, and it was rubber-stamped by the Board without fanfare. Nothing exciting, just a straight-up conferring of title deed to MassDOT for the whole of the main spur to UCRTS, the associated derelict yard trackage, the wye, and a 1000+ ft. length of the base spur track adjacent to the golf course for wyeing a full train. Not sure where the new division post is...it's either the runaround switch on the base spur right by the NW property fence of the golf course, or the derelict siding switch to Temple Rd. about 400 ft. south of the runaround switch.
Last edited by MEC407 on Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total. Reason: unnecessary quoting
 #1456099  by Falmouth Secondary to Otis
 
Thanks for more info on the Otis spur. After being silent since the UCRTS opened, the local Bike path advocates are still pushing for rail removal with a recent letter filled with misinformation as usual, stating that the ownership of the spur is clouded in ownership / management. Was good for a laugh as these bike path advocates don't have a clue as to what expanded use / State investment funding is in the works for the coming years ahead. Link to letter in Capenews.net below

https://www.capenews.net/bourne/opinion ... d0485.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1457222  by SOCO11
 
I recently saw that Excel scrap has built a quite large facility in the Freetown Industrial Park just north of the defunct Weyerhaeuser site. I can't see down the tracks to determine if they have extended the siding into it. I googled and found that they had planned to build an auto shredder and scrap facility and it would be rail served. Does anyone know if that is what was built and if it is up and running yet? It has large walls all around which is good for dust and noise but bad for viewing.
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